NHL All-Star Weekend deserves love; Rear view of Miss Canada outfit

Off The Draw

I know where you're coming from, all you haters. I've been there. For years, I couldn't be bothered with the All-Star Game. No hitting. No pace. No passion. No point.

But thanks to some inspired tinkering by the league, I've learned to stop worrying and start loving the All-Star festivities. And you can, too.

Here are four reasons why I'm looking forward to this weekend:

1. The Draft (7:30 p.m. EST; NBCSN, SN, TVA): Sure, throwing sticks in a pile at center ice would be chaotic fun, but this genius NHL innovation makes for much better (and longer) TV. You get the conspiracies, the buddy picks and, if we're lucky, a crowd that lets the players know how they really feel. And yeah, there's something to be said for watching a few world-class athletes experience what it's like to be the fat kid in gym class. Even with all the late roster adds, my money's still on Radim Vrbata to go last, by the way.

2. The Skills Competition (7 p.m. EST; NBCSN): Ideally, they'd augment the cast of All-Stars with players who specialize in certain skills just so we could definitively answer the questions that keep us arguing at the bar. I'd love to see Nathan MacKinnon or Michael Grabner in the time trials or Pavel Datsyuk in the breakaway challenge or Zdeno Chara in the ... well, you know. But still, this is such a great event, the perfect blend of loose camaraderie and fierce oneupsmanship. Maybe they don't care who wins the game on Sunday but no one wants to be embarrassed here. It's always a good show and it will be even better to watch now that the players will be wearing GoPro cameras that give you the star's-eye view of the proceedings.

3. Mic'd-up players in the All-Star Game (5 p.m. EST; NBCSN). I'll admit that the absence of mayhem and malice takes something away from the entertainment value of the contest, but modern technology (GoPros will be used during the game)—and some well-timed chirps—more than make up for it. If the hockey gods are smiling, we'll get another gem like this. Is it too late to add Scott Hartnell to the roster?

4. Replacement players: Sure, the game would have more star power with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin in it, but I think the NHL made the right call promoting Filip Forsberg, Aaron Ekblad and Johnny Gaudreau from the Young Stars to take part in the big game. Veteran players can get a bit jaded at these events, but the kids? They'll bust their humps to prove they belong. Don't be surprised if Forsberg or Gaudreau ends up as MVP

Mayor Ed Murray told King 5 on Thursday that NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman “made it known to him that it would like to put a team in Seattle. That's if the city had a NHL ready building to play in.”

Problem is, the city doesn't have that building. And the mayor doubts that a proposed arena project will get underway before a deadline of 2017 because landing an NBA tenant—a condition of the current proposal—isn't on the horizon. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has made it clear to the city that his league is “not expanding now and not actively supporting moving any team.”

So much for the city's best-laid plans. “I don't see how hoping for [an NBA] team gets a stadium,” the mayor said.

It's easy to see why the NHL wants to plant a flag in the Emerald City. It's a proven sports market and the geography is ideal.

But at this point, the NHL has three options for Seattle: wait patiently for an NBA team that might never come; find a buyer willing to privately finance a building in an area other than the preferred SoDo location that currently belongs to developer/prospective NBA owner Chris Hansen; or punt.

Looks like the league will be taking door No. 3. And that leads it directly to Las Vegas.

• An Eastern Conference scout on Connor McDavid's performance in Thursday's CHL Top Prospects Game: “That's the jazz in his game. You know he'll get his points, but what makes him so special is what's happening between those moments. The way he creates time and space not just for himself but for his teammates. He's that rare player who makes everyone [on his line] better.”

McDavid was limited to one assist in the contest, a 6-0 win for his Team Orr, but he may have been taking it easy on the other prospects.

“I saw where he could’ve taken some shots—showing mercy to us,” opposing coach Don Cherry told the Canadian Press. “I really believe when they got up 4-0 that he let up. I’m not saying he’s Bobby Orr, but Bobby used to do the same thing. When we’d be up 5-1 or something like that, you could see him back off. McDavid looked pretty good."

The numbers game

• Of this year's NHL All-Stars, 31 are under the age of 30, with 11 of them under 25. The youngest: Nashville's Filip Forsberg (20), Buffalo's Zemgus Girgensons (21), and Edmonton's Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (21). The game's grand geezer is New Jersey's Patrick Elias (38).

• Three All-Stars were chosen in the 2007 NHL Draft that was hosted by Columbus. Patrick Kane (No. 1 by the Blackhawks), Jakub Voracek of the Flyers (No. 7 by the Blue Jackets) and Kevin Shattenkirk of the Blues (No. 14 by the Avalanche).

• Rangers forward Rick Nash leads all current All-Stars in appearances in the mid-season classic (6). Alex Ovechkin of the Capitals ranks second (5).

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• Yeah, you've seen it. But you can't fully appreciate Miss Canada's insane costume from the Miss Universe pageant until you've seen it from the back.

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